Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress, (NDC), John Mahama has launched a verbal attack on the Supreme Court’s decision over the removal of James Gyakye Quayson from being the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North in the Central Region by describing the ruling as ‘’nonsense’’.
According to him, the decision by the Supreme Court is politically motivated and orchestrated to favor the ruling New Patriotic Party to gain more numbers of MPs in Parliament, hence doesn’t ‘’make sense’’ since James Quayson hasn’t done anything wrong to warrant his removal from Parliament.
Mr. Mahama who said this during his visit to Assin Bereku over the weekend lamented that “This NPP administration has gone to indecent lengths to rob the people of Assin North of parliamentary representation. The reason? To gain an advantage in what has essentially been a hung Parliament. The James Quayson case will go down in the history of Ghanaian democracy as one of the most brazen manipulations of our judicial system ever’’.
Mr. Mahama who went high on the Judges stated categorically that James Quayson hasn’t done anything wrong and that he will be jailed, and he can state on authority that the deposed MP cannot be jailed by the Supreme Court, rather the NPP who are behind will be the one to be jailed.
The court said the ousted Assin North MP, failed to prove that he had renounced his Canadian citizenship when he filed his nomination to contest the 2020 general elections.
Parliament subsequently declared the Assin North seat vacant, leading to the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana announcing a by-election on June 27, 2023, to fill the seat.
The deposed MP, James Gyakye Quayson is standing trial for deceit of a public officer, forgery of a passport and knowingly making a false statutory declaration and perjury.
Mr. Mahama who is desperate for power claimed the MP’s removal is “one of the most brazen manipulations of our judicial system ever”, adding that the justice system has not worked for the people of Assin north and James Quayson. Firmly believe and trust the people of Assin North to right the wrong done to them and Mr. Quayson by electing him once again as Member of Parliament for the constituency’’.
The NDC flagbearer claimed that the apex court’s ruling is a deliberate display of disrespect to the country’s democracy, saying “The representation of the people is at the heart of our democracy. Therefore, any decision that denies the citizenry of representation is a travesty of justice and an affront to our democracy’’.
He further questioned the legality of the ruling when there is a substantive case pending before the Supreme Court on the legitimacy of the Assin North MP on the claims that he suspects that the substantive case before the apex court has already been ruled against Mr. Quayson.
Ousted MP
The deposed MP also speaking in an interview with Woezor TV, attributed his removal from office to the dynamics within the current Parliament but said the people of Assin North are solidly behind him.
He lamented that “I think basically, it is an intimidation process because I haven’t seen any criminal trial where an accused person or suspect is arraigned before the court on a daily basis and so we all know that it is an executive influence on the process. The people of Assin North understand the circumstances and situation that I am going through and they also understand that the fight is not about me but about them.”
Trial
Retired Justice Jones Victor Dotse, Justice Nene Amegatcher, Justice Mariama Owusu, the now Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Torkornoo, Justice Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Justice Yonny Kulendi, and Justice Barbara Ackah-Yensu declared that Quayson was not qualified at the time he contested the election 2020 in the Michael Ankomah Nimfah verse James Gyakye Quayson case.
At the recent engagement in court, Justice Ekue Yanzuh turned down a prayer by Quayson’s lawyer, Justin Terriwajjah which sought to have the trial continued after the Assin North by-election slated for June 27, 2023.
Lead counsel for James Gyakye Quayson, Tsatsu Tsikata at the court on Tuesday registered his displeasure with remarks made by Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame.
This was after hearing Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, opposed the prayer, stressing that nobody had given Quayson a national assignment despite concerns by lawyers for the embattled former Assin North MP that he should be afforded a longer adjournment to enable him to campaign for the upcoming by-election.
Counsel for Quayson argued that his client was embarking on a national duty in a bid to represent the people of Assin North in parliament, hence the need to continue the trial after the by-election for Quayson to have a leveled playing field in the campaign.
Opposing the application, the Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, argued that considering the charges leveled against Quayson, he could be convicted and jailed if found guilty, hence the need to try the case expeditiously to bring clarity on Quayson’s status.
-BY Daniel Bampoe